Lady Griz win second straight, down Fighting Hawks

Sunday, November 20

Missoula, Mont.

2 PM

Montana

2-2

North Dakota

2-2

North Dakota

Montana

11/20/2022 5:54:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana Lady Griz gave their fans the full early-season experience in one 40-minute game on Sunday afternoon at Dahlberg Arena in Missoula.

Fourteen first-half turnovers. A 14-point second-quarter deficit. An opposing player who put up 35 points. A third Division I opponent out of three to shoot better than 40 percent.

But also: a 32-point third quarter for Montana and 52-point second half, five players in double figures while once again playing without all-league performer Carmen Gfeller.

When everything had played out, Montana had its second straight victory, an 82-77 win over North Dakota that allowed coach Brian Holsinger to take it all in stride.

"It's nice to score for sure, but I'm a defensive guy," he said lightheartedly. "It's nice to score and then we can't defend anybody, so there is always something wrong if you're a coach.

"We hit shots and I'm not happy because we can't get stops. I'm proud of our kids. This is a good experience. Every game is a new experience, every game is an opportunity to grow for this young team."

Sammy Fatkin scored 21 points on just nine shots. She went 10 for 12 from the line and grabbed a career-high eight rebounds.

Gina Marxen, looking more and more comfortable, which means more and more dangerous, added 18 points and six assists.

She hit four 3-pointers, the second of which, late in the second quarter, gave the Idaho transfer 1,000 points for her collegiate career.

"It's a special accomplishment," said Holsinger. "It's a big deal and a cool milestone. I hope there are more as we go forward. She's just getting going.

"I'm thrilled she's here and that I get to coach her for the remaining part of her career. There are good things ahead for her."

Mack Konig hit all three of her 3-pointers and scored 10 points, and Dani Bartsch added 10 off the bench and had the play of the game.

With Montana leading 80-77 with 24 seconds left after two Fatkin free throws, North Dakota worked the ball to Maggie Manson in the left corner.

Her potential game-tying shot was blocked by Bartsch with 14 seconds left. Bartsch made two free throws with six seconds remaining for the game's final points.

"We're just getting comfortable in our system and everything we do. If we can continue to score like that and get more stops, we're going to be pretty good," said Holsinger.

Montana overcame 35 points from Kacie Borowicz, a total only seven opposing players have exceeded against the Lady Griz in program history.

It's the most since Idaho State's Dora Goles put up 36 late in the 2019-20 season and was five off the most ever scored against Montana.

Borowicz sparked a second-quarter surge by North Dakota that turned a 15-14 Montana lead into a 33-19 UND advantage in less than six minutes.

Borowicz hit back-to-back 3-pointers and had 11 points in the second quarter, 19 in the first half.

The game may have been salvaged by the way the Lady Griz responded to being down by 14 on their home court late in the second quarter.

Konig hit a big 3-pointer with two minutes left, then Bartsch and Marxen combined to score the final seven points of the quarter to make it a more manageable 35-30 deficit at the break.

Nineteen of North Dakota's first-half points came off Montana turnovers.

"Way too many turnovers in the first half. Just some weird stuff. We'll continue to fine-tune those things," said Holsinger.

"We have to fix that stuff but really proud. We're young and we're continuing to get better and better all the time."

Entering the second half, Montana was 24 for 90 (.267) from the 3-point line through three and a half games this season.

It didn't make sense, not with the type of shooters the Lady Griz have. The third quarter? Now that made sense. That was more like it.

Montana went 12 for 16 in the period, 6 for 7 from the arc, with Marxen and Konig both going 2 for 2 from distance and four players hitting 3-pointers overall.

With Montana holding North Dakota without a made basket for nearly six minutes spanning the second and third quarters, the Lady Griz went on a 19-0 run.

North Dakota went from leading 35-23 to trailing 42-35, and Montana held the lead the rest of the game, the final 18:45.

The Fighting Hawks four times cut their deficit to two points in the third quarter. Each time it was a different answer from Montana: Alex Pirog, Keeli Burton-Oliver, Konig, Lisa Kiefer.

Even with Montana's 19-0 run and big third quarter, North Dakota kept coming. Holsinger might partly blame his team's defense, but there is a reason UND was picked fourth in the strong Summit League.

After Montana went up eight early in the fourth quarter, the Fighting Hawks scored six straight to make it 67-65, and it was a one- or two-possession game the final 8:28.

Twice after North Dakota had made it a two-point game, Fatkin had the answer, once on a driving layup, the other from the free throw line.

When Rakiyah Beal hit a 3-pointer with 34 seconds left, the Montana lead was down to one, 78-77, the closest the game had been since early in the third quarter.

Fatkin hit two free throws with 24 seconds left, Bartsch had the big block and the late free throws, and Montana had its second consecutive win, after defeating Providence (MT) 71-43 on Tuesday.

The Lady Griz went 16 for 23 (.696) in the second half and shot 50 percent for the game, the fifth time Montana has shot 50 percent or better against a Division I opponent under Holsinger.

Montana finished 11 for 20 from the arc, the team's fifth time with 10 or more under Holsinger.

Burton-Oliver had her second efficient game in six days, finishing with 11 points on 5-of-10 shooting, seven rebounds, a blocked shot and a steal in 23 minutes, a season high by nine.

"She's going to be a force before long," said Holsinger. "She's just getting more and more minutes and doing more and more things for our team."

After opening the season with three of four at home, Montana will play its next three on the road, starting later this week at the Loyola Marymount Thanksgiving Classic in Los Angeles.

Montana (2-2) will face Wichita State (3-1) and California (3-1) on days when Southern California is expected to peak out at 80 degrees. It was below zero in Missoula on Sunday morning.

"We'll enjoy the weather. It will be a little warmer than here, maybe 70 degrees warmer, but we're going down there to keep improving and to win games," Holsinger said.